A 4-year legal saga that followed a high-profile scam came to an end in May 2021 when the Fyre Festival class-action lawsuit was settled in New York for approximately $2 million.
The Fyre Festival was—or was supposed to be—a luxury music event held in the Bahamas in 2017. Those who bought tickets were promised first-class accommodations, food and music. The event was to be hosted on the private island of the late Pablo Escobar, a Colombian who had a reputation as both a “Robin Hood” who gave to the poor and “The King of Cocaine,” who amassed personal wealth of roughly $30 billion.
Celebrities ranging from Kendall Jenner to Bella Hadid to Hailey Baldwin promoted the event on social media. VIP packages were selling for up to $12,000 each.
That was the promise…
The reality was different. When attendees arrived in the Bahamas, they were effectively stranded. Instead of first-class hotels, there were unsecure tents. Instead of a luxury gourmet, there were food rations. As it turns out, the island was not private, nor had it ever been owned by Escobar.
What was it like to be in such conditions?
The complaint likens the situation to The Hunger Games or Lord of the Files. Because the event had been billed as cashless, attendees were completely dependent on organizers for transportation.
A class-action lawsuit was filed in April 2017 against Fyre Media, event organizer and promoter Billy McFarland and rapper Ja Rule, listed as the festival’s co-founder. Criminal charges were also brought against McFarland. In 2018, McFarland pled guilty to 2 counts of wire fraud and is currently serving a 6-year prison sentence.
The civil lawsuit, in listing the conditions that ticket buyers were left in, likens it to a form of false imprisonment.
Fyre Festival ultimately ended up filing for bankruptcy and the entire legal process, including the class-action lawsuit, were adjudicated in bankruptcy court. The final settlement called for a $2 million payout. The money will be split among ticket holders, leaving each with a little over $7,000.
For some, the class-action relief won’t even be enough to cover the costs of the trip, much less the hardship and fear that was endured in being stranded on a desert island. But at least it’s something.
It’s safe to say that everyone involved will treat “vacation of a lifetime” claims with a little more skepticism in the future.